Sky Lantern Festival with Dancing Dragon coloring page
A happy dragon waltzes under a sky of lanterns flying around--clean lines, big shapes, and glowing details create magic fun to color.
This party coloring page shows a happy ribbon-dancing dragon spinning around in a festival square as the fire-paper lanterns float away into the night-sky. The rounded horns, soft belly plates, and the scalloped back scales that make up the dragon’s appearance are enough to remain charming yet still feel friendly, and the moving whiskers and the curling tail help animate without introducing a fussy little shape. Lanterns are massed in simple shapes--rounded squares and soft cylinders--with simple tassels and tie strings; a couple of large, colorable spaces are near-up, and little lanterns soar into the distance. Off around the plaza are dots of neatness: a low arched bridge, a row of pennants, a pair of pagoda-like roofs sketched in firm simple lines. In the higher sky there are twinkling stars and wisps of smoke curling upwards out of lanterns to give that dreamy, floating sensation. This is all recorded onto a thin and tidy frame and the completed page can be sharp in a binder or frame. It has appropriate proportions of big spaces (dragon body, wings/fins, sky) and pleasant details (scale rows, tassels, sparkles) to make colorists occupied until the end of the composition.
The way to color (in stages)
Golden Glow: warm red orange and golds; teal or jade dragon.
Twilight Magic: blue- violet skies; sea-glass dragon; creamy lamps.
Pastel Parade: peach, mint, lavender, buttery yellow and tender blue night.
Base coats first: Put on light tone of even color over the dragon (bellies, belly plates and inner fins 1-2 shades lighter), the nearest lanterns and the sky.
Model the dragon: Shadow around the mouth and chest area, where the contours go to curves and under the whiskers, and underneath the fins. Powder small white highlights on snout, horn tips and some scale sides to shine.
Lantern glow: Maintain the centers of lanterns light ( cream or light yellow). In places gradually deepen to warm orange towards edges and under the top rim. Put a soft shade of the same light around each lantern and you have a glow.
Paper texture: In close lanterns, Ease off general texture with very thin vertical lines (Folded paper). Color tassels just below the knot; keep a small spot of light on the bead.
Sky gradient: Gradient darker out towards the edges and lighter around the clump of lanterns. Put some small stars; make them brighter out of halo.
Festival description: Festive pennants are of 23 rotating colors. Leave a little bit cooler or even darker roof and bridge down a little so the glowing lanterns and dragon stand out.
Reflected light: Look on dragon: Add foot-warm rim-light on the side of lantern-lighted mouth (cheek, belly scutes, fin edges). Blacken down the opposite side a little to give contrast.
Grounding: In case of including plaza rocks or a bridge deck, place a soft shadow below creature paws and tips of tails to make the dragon to sit in the picture.
Finish & shine: Add dollops of day-glo gel-pen crystals around halo rings, and on scales tips. Re-trace the entire outer line twice to have a clean, poster ready line.
